About This Blog

My name is Gustav Andersson. After working a 9-5 job for five years, I realized that I was slowly stagnating into a comfortable routine — a personal nightmare of mine. So I quit my job, sold my flat and walked away from the well-trodden streets of London. Thus began my new life as a modern-day nomad.

The nomadic life is an experiment. Can you live a full life without a fixed address? Can you work and love as a nomad? Will you go mad living out of a backpack? Is the freedom of the road real or simply a mirage?

I would be honoured if you’d care to walk with me on this journey. I hope that my experiences on the road may inspire you in some way, and I sure could use the company!

Why you should read this blog

My mission statement is “To explore how a modern nomadic life can best be geo-independent, sustainable and eudaemonic.” The blog should serve the nomadic community both as a source of practical information as well as inspiration.

Over time, however, I have drifted towards a secondary mission statement, “To inspire people to actively choose how to live their lives, and to make that choice with bravery and passion.”

I want to inspire people to reach a little further, think a little clearer and live a little more excitingly. Most of all, I want to help people live intentionally. Too many live their lives the way other people expect them to live. I want to free people from that prison and put the power over their lives back in their own hands.

Nomadism is my way of intentionally living my authentic life. I hope my rather extreme life will remind people that we can shape our lives any way we want. People shouldn’t follow me into nomadism; they should choose for themselves how they want to live their one and only life. (And if that happens to be nomadic, great!)

Where to start?

First of all you should subscribe to future posts (e-mail or RSS) so you don’t miss any of the fun! (Following people no longer makes you a stalker; it makes you a cool Web 2.0 person.)

If you are new to the blog, start with my Mission Statement where I explain further the principles of my nomadic life. Then check out these highlighted posts or let the photos that best catch your eye on the image wall lead you astray. For an insight into my daily life, check out my Daily Photo page.

And remember that both you and I will enjoy the blog much more if you engage with it. Leave comments on the posts (I read them all.) and share them on your favourite networks. (That last bit really helps me and I will be ever so grateful!)

About me

I was born in Ljungby, Sweden, but spent my twenties in London where I studied Computing at Imperial College (2002-2005) after which I worked for UBS, one of those big evil banks everybody hates these days, going from coding monkey to soulless IT manager (2006-2011).

I strive towards a dynamic and multi-faceted life. I love to sample new aspects of the world. This drive to explore life is my defining personality trait. It underpins my love for travel, which has taken me to less common destinations such as Jordan, Siberia, the Nevada Desert (Burning Man) and Iran.

Things I’ve learn from a nomadic life

Autonomy. I constantly have to make choices. I cannot solidify recurring choices into a set routine that I can then simply follow, which most people do. I have to choose and figure things out all the time. This is tiring, but it is also an amazing freedom and a terrific teacher.

Alternative Relationships. I meet and fall in love with people around the world, spending a few intense weeks with them before moving on. I don’t try to own any of them, and enjoy the relationships for the time that I have them. You also learn an awful lot about the nature of friendships.

Personal growth. Travel is a wonderful antidote to stagnation as well as a rich source of experience. With any luck, I might even turn my experiences of the world into wisdom, and through it, I hope to achieve Eudaemonia. (For more info on Eudaemonia, see my Mission Statement.)

Strong mental health. The nomadic journey can really play tricks with your head, and you must be able to recognize these mental monsters and fight them.

Minimalism. Living a life free from gathering and owning a house-load of possessions bring with it a wonderful sense of simplicity and freedom.

Identity. On becoming nomadic, you strip away many aspects of normality from which we normally draw our identity. This can be traumatic at first, but over time, you search a little deeper and find a new bedrock for your identity which is grounded in your inner-most sense of self.

Time dilation. Our brains compress long periods of time doing the same thing into a perceived short time span, and vice versa, a period of many diverse experiences will be remembered as longer, since the brain need to enumerate them one by one. So at the end of my life, I will perceive it as a very long, full and rich life, with many diverse experiences making my life feel like an aeon. I hope then, that I will die content and happy.

Most people find commenting quite painless. Go on, try it!

I want to leave where I am I’m in a boring relationship boring life I’ve got no job I just been layed off no money and live in a council house. Aahhh!!! I wanna live life and this is not it!!!
I have a rucksack and some boots. I’m so inspired by what people like you do. I will soon be walking out of my boring life into the unknown there will be no turning back I have nothing else in life but then you come with nothing and go back with nothing. So what’s to loose nothing he he. Xx

Mutual friends turned me on to your blog. I’m leaving my job, leaving London most likely – at least for a time – and exploring new careers. It’s great fun to find a like minded soul. Can’t wait to read about your adventures.

I just came across your blog. I am also a Swede from Småland who has spent far too long working in London so I have quit my job and am off travelling in a few months 🙂 Looking forward to reading your blog for inspiration.

Thank you Gustav for proving this sort of lifestyle is possible! So many people keep telling me I’m naive thinking that a nomadic lifestyle is still a possibility in this modern world, and I love reading about your intelligent discernment as you go along – proving it’s not naive, it’s a deep and full way of life. Thank you!

please don’t come back to america, you may be hot, but you have one of the worst personalities i’ve ever seen in a guy…there’s enough trash in this country without you going from one guy to another…hopefully you find a soul someday and learn not to take a genuine guy for granted

I was about to apologize for having upset you, but then I caught myself. It would have been a hollow and insincere apology. I cannot apologize to an anonymous person and I cannot apologize when I don’t know for what I am apologizing. If you’d care to sort this out, e-mail me. If you just want to rant and spread a bad vibe, please do so elsewhere.

Wot ave we ‘ere then?
A well rounded, well vocalised and pleasurable read non-the-less! Many people go off ‘travelling’/ absconding from responsibility. But you my dear, have taken on the ‘road’ like the bards of old, and heralded a new song, that purrs with the whizz and clunk of Technology 2.0.
This website is clear to navigate, has fresh lively content and will be something that you can look back upon and say “ere, look wot I did, and I got photos to prove it”.

Verily, I am impressed.
Perhaps tis time you wrote for some more magazines me thinks, Condenaste traveler perhaps, or maybe CALMzine? There are a wealth of publications that stink of stagnation, and the same-same. Could be good for generating some further sheckles!

Well cover me in humble pie (then lick it off!) Many thanks for those kind words. Perhaps I’ll heed your advice and seek to monetize my writing with some magazine somewhere. But if I do that, know that I will always reserve my very best material for my readers of The Modern Nomad.

So where are you spending the holidays? I’m leaving the London scene in 10 days and then off on the road; stateside for the holiday, then Australia and NZ in Jan/Feb before heading back to Europe. Finally making good on my promise to hit the road.

I’ve nominated you for the Reality Blog Award, and the Sunshine Blog Award. For obvious reasons. My husband and I are also nomads. We gave up everything (home, possessions, etc) in our sixties to travel and have a life before we don’t anymore.
You can read about the awards on my blog alisonanddon.wordpress.com
Cheers, and happy travels.

I gotta tell you this is a really cool thing you are doing here man, I admire your drive to live a more simplistic life for I to want to join that path. Best of luck to you and I’ll be catching up on your blog!

My Swedish husband and I (American) have been living the nomadic lifestyle for nearly 5 years. We quit our jobs in London to travel. We work as independent creative producers and have been fortunate to always have a bed to sleep in and a meal in our bellies. We find that consuming less affords us the opportunity to have beautiful experiences and exciting adventures that will last a lifetime. I don’t know how much longer we will continue this lifestyle, but it’s been good so far. Looking forward to reading your blog.

Hi Gustav, I discovered your blog whilst perusing Queer Tango websites (my recent fascination and interest)and am so pleased that I did. I’ve been burning up your bandwidth ever since, particularly as I am off sick from work at the momment and I can honestly say that it has been captivating, having held my interest for ‘oh so long’ periods of time, it has helped raise my spirits, so well done you for that alone. What a fascinating and intrepid young man you are, your posts are brilliant, packed with interesting information, anecdotes, humour, educative and most of all your sharing of the insights and pearls of wisdom afforded to you from the life lessons and experiences you have both learned and earned, along the way. I’m sure there will be many more waiting for you in the wings. Well, spunky boy, keep on doing what you are doing with passion and verve, I look forward to spending more time reading your posts both old and new and revelling in your adventures. Best Wishes Gustav and Good Luck on your continuing journey.

I’ve been wondering…how do you afford your lifestyle? I don’t use money myself, and I find it increasingly hard to remain poor. But I also know that if I ever wanted to go to other countries, I wouldn’t be able to afford it without accepting a generous donation from someone.

Although I would have no problem accepting a large and generous donations, alas, if I put my faith in that, I would surely be starving to death in a ditch right now. (The donation buttons above have not been clicked a number of times to take it past a prime number of prime numbers)

Hey! nice blog! Living nomad is tough but its worth doing it as there are so many beautiful places and cultures to explore. Its awesome that you pursued what you like in live! Totally inspiring!

I am not living (fully) nomad, but i have lived in 6 different countries. Let me know if you are thinking to explore South east Asia, Japan or Germany! Can give some tips of places to visit there. Keep doing it and best of luck!

More and more, inspiration is becoming my main goal of this site, so I’m glad you found it here!

Japan is on my list of places to go, for sure, and so is south-east asia. And as something of a leather queen, Berlin is obviously on my list as well! So yeah, would love whatever input you have on those three places. You can always contact me through my contact page.

This is exactly what I’m planning to do this year. I’m eager for the challenge of slow travel and exploring what it means to live. I love what you wrote: ‘going from coding monkey to soulless IT manager.’ Even working in corporate responsibility and sustainability, it often seems this way–life as a series of boxes to check. In any case, your spirit is simply just likable, so many congratulations and hope to perhaps bump into you on the road somewhere.

Hi Gustav! I am so inspired by your story, I would absolutely love to do something like this! I am only 20 and will be a junior at a university in Vermont, but I want to LIVE my life and explore the world in which we live instead of working 9-5 each and every day. I’m only existing, in many ways… I want to live and be more in touch with the earth has to offer, as well as cultures I have never been exposed to! However, I am nervous to travel by myself as a young girl with relatively no experience in traveling alone. Do you have any recommendations? Thank you!! Your blog is really great.

I am happy to have been an inspiration. And that, alas, is all I can be, I’m afraid. Sure, I may have some practical tips here and there, but everyone is different and what is right for me may be wrong for you, and vice versa. My generic advice is this: actively choose how to live your life, and do it with bravery and passion.

I hope you’ll continue to follow my writing, and if you choose the nomadic path, I sure hope you’ll tell me about it.

You are the first website I came across as I typed in modern nomadic lifestyle. I still haven’t even had a chance to go through your blog but will to get tips and ideas as I continue my journey. One thing that is different is that I am not leaving my corporate job but I am giving up having one physical location as an address. I am making a choice to live my life differently so that I can be exposed to people, places, ideas, projects and other amazing things in this world. Thanks for posting your journey and I look forward to reading all that you have done.

Welcome to The Modern Nomad! It is always nice when new readers introduce themselves with a comment. And please engage with the blog on other posts as well. I would love a fellow nomad’s point of view!

Who isn’t a whovian? (sorry, must do better) Of course I’m a whovian! However, I feel a bit like a beaten housewive who always come back to her disappointing husband as of late. Have thought the latest series to be much to childish and the Dr to behave more like a magician than a scientist.

Freshman in college and sooo excited to pick up my backpack and join you in this life style! A few questions: is it hard? is it scary? was it worth it? do you live comfortably?
no matter the answers, i am dedicated to living this life once i graduate! keep making memories for me and hopefully i can meet you some day if we cross paths!

Your journey is truly fascinating and inspiring! I thoroughly enjoy reading your blog. I was looking up videos on YouTube last night and accidentally discovered your Nevis swing video haha which subsequently led me to here!
One question that I have in mind is, how long do you see yourself living this nomadic lifestyle? And don’t you ever feel lonely as in having the urge to settle down with someone you love? (If ya don’t mind me asking lol)
All the best to you!

I’m glad you like the blog! Please share it with others you think may like it too.

I don’t have an end-date in mind. I think of it as indefinite. I will continue while it makes me happy, and if I don’t like it one day, I’ll stop. I’ve written about the loneliness and mental strains of the nomadic life in several articles. Click around and you are bound to find them/ In short, yes, you do get lonely, but it isn’t too bad and it can be dealt with.

Taking the first steps are the hardest – you do have to be brave and let go of the old habits that bind you to the reality you have created.
Once you have made the decision to change your life – set the wheels turning – tell people that are close to you (family & friends) of your intentions. Set a time frame to work to. Give notice to your landlord and get rid of your material possessions. I sold mine on a online auction site (with the help of a friend we photographed every item in my rented house – 14 years of accumulated stuff) posted it online and people with the highest bid won the item for the price they wanted to pay. When the money arrived in my account I posted the item to them. Larger items sold locally and so those items where collected by their new owners at my door with cash in hand. My house emptied and my bank account grew – perfect start to new the journey.
End employment at time that fits with your schedule – you can always hang with friends for a bit as you tidy up loose ends.
What you do with your free time is totally up to you! You are now your on boss – the world is full of opportunities that you where not in a position to contemplate because of your prior commitments.
Search the internet for the best deals for transport deals, cheap deals, special offers etc – this is your work now making the most of your budget. If your starting out with no savings to speak off – don’t worry you can still do it. Check out WWOOFing (willing workers on organic farms) this is a world wide network – basically food & accommodation in return for 1/2 days service of labour at the same property.
There is also “couch surfing”, “house sitting”, relocating hire vehicles, hitch hiking, seasonal work, casual employment, employment agencies offering sort term or one off jobs, freedom camping, squatting, crashing with friends and family, – the best way is to take things as they come and accept the gifts of opportunity that come to your open mind.
About five years ago I quite a full time permanent job ended a 14 year tenancy and walked out the front door with a back pack (that’s how I had arrived). I got on a plane with a one way ticket to Asia.
Today I am in Bali, Indonesia (for the first time). I flew here at a whim based on the fact that I had free time from my casual employment. I am casually employed by a company that emails me when I’m required and I make my own way back to Perth Western Australia. They then fly me in and out (FIFO) to work for no less than a week ( 7 days of 12 hour shifts) they provide accommodation a food allowance and transport while I’m working. I also get the frequent flyer points for the flights to and from the work site.
It maybe 6 weeks between stints of work or 6 days – sometimes I get an urgent call to return for to cover for some unforeseen circumstance. I always just drop what ever I’m doing and get on the next plane – (the first 3 days back at work cover any of my costs to get there and back so the next 4 days or more a clear profit – I only return for 1 week or more!). So my new reality is that I work on average 6 months of the year enjoy the the other 6 doing what ever I fancy – just have to check my emails every day.
I am lucky to have such a great life/work balance – but I also had to create the situation where I was free to accept such an offer of casual employment like this.
I would also like to add that – this situation came off the back of a ‘tip’
from a fellow traveler who happened to share a dorm room for one night in a hostel as he passed through on his way home in Europe ending his time in Australia. That conversation over a friendly drink in the hostel bar – gave me the key to unlock a new direction that I had not considered before. Be open to new ideas – don’t be afraid to explore ideas based on the observations and experience of ‘random’ encounters with others.

Kindred spirit indeed! Thanks for sharing that. Man, that job sounds AWESOME. And like you said, you had to make room for the opportunity before it came to you. Too many people will falsely look at that job and say, “well, he was just lucky to get that kind of job,” which is a terribly half-truth. Yes, it was lucky, but we make our own luck. Had you not made some sacrifices to make yourself available for luck to happen, it wouldn’t.

Your way of thinking sounds like i thought 40 odd years ago. It made sense to me that everyone should work six months and play six months. My wife and i were hitch hikers and loved it until the kids started coming along and slowed us down. 30 years later when all the kids left home we started again backpacking through south east asia and india, great time, loved it. Now we have compromised and spend a lot of time in our motor home, uk france spain portugal. We were not put on this planet just to work. Keep it up. Happy traveling.

Absolutely fascinating. I’ve been feeling this strange pull in my soul as of late. And I realize it when reading your blogs and your stories what it is. Remember the first time you fell in love? That weird feeling of a combination of shortness of breath and excitement? I get that any time I think of the nomadic lifestyle, and reading your blog gave me the same feeling multiple times. I know I need to escape my 9-5. I’ve known for years. Maybe it’s time I try.

Hey, interesting read! I see you’re in Vancouver too – love that city.

I’ve particularly had a fascination with Canada since I was a child, and have a soft spot for Nordic countries. A couple of years ago I woke up with a feeling I’ve never really felt before – that life was passing by, made some wrong decisions along the way, should have done all the travelling I wanted to do when I had an easier life. So I decided I’d spend six weeks mostly in Canada. I did that in 2012 and since that day, my mind usually wonders off thinking about what a cool time I had there.

Now I have my own business, and in a long term relationship, and everyone in my family is very close. All of these factors makes it difficult to have a nomadic lifestyle.

Hence me deciding that the best I’ll probably be able to do is go and live abroad for a year or so. Which is what I’ll be doing this year, in Canada. I’ll be taking my work with me (I’m a web/graphic designer so it’s quite easy to work 5,000 miles away from the office).

I was just wondering, how do you fund this lifestyle? I see you have lived in various places – what about work and paying the bills? Do you apply for a work visa every time you enter a new destination?

Hi Gustav
We awkwardly met in a local bar. I was fascinated by your chosen path and decided to read your blog. A fascinating life indeed. If you are into spending at least an evening with my husband and me, we’d be honoured to share our story and a good meal with you. I’m South African, my hubby, German.
Your writing is beautiful and your chosen path an inspiration to others. Yes we only have one life. Be the master of it.
We are not planning on joining your path but I know our travel plans will follow some of your footsteps. Would be great to share stories.
Best wishes
Pete and Holger.

I think your journey is quite amazing. I have not the gumption to go on such a journey but reading about yours is fascinating. I’m a book worm almost anything I can get my hands on you sir could write a book about your travels and adventures kind of like a biographical adventure novel like “A Fault in Our Stars”. If ya ever find yourself in Texas drop me a line would to test my cooking skills on a nomad whom has probably had everything.
Good Luck Darlin,
Jakers

This is definitely a crazy idea. But it’s also a crazy adventure that I think you will find will be worth the trip. I can’t even imagine how hard it must have been for you to leave your job and your home to do this. But i guess if you love it then it’s all going to work out in the end.

[…] stagnating into a “comfortable routine” (short for starting to live the boring life)— In his blog bio, The Modern Nomad, he states that it is a personal nightmare of his. So he decided to quit his job, sold his flat, […]

I am so happy to have stumbled upon this blog site. I have always had a wandering spirit. My mom told me that from the time I learned to walk, I would escape whenever I had the chance. She would find me running down the street around my neighborhood in diapers or in the woods chasing bugs. I even remember as a young child wishing I was horse, longing to run into the distant horizon, not looking back. Some how along the way, I subscribed to the more acceptable “stable” lifestyle, which lead me into a deep depression that eventually resulted in a divorce. After breaking down everything I was, I am looking to start a new chapter- exploring and walking a path that aligns with my soul. I come from a line of nomadic woman. My grandmother was the only one out of 6 children who left her home state at age 16 to become a welder in the shipyards during the war. My mother moved me an average of three times year when I was a small child. Movement is so natural to me yet so unacceptable and difficult in this culture. I have tried to deny my spirit and bliss in order to live up to certain expectations. I am hopeful and inspired by your writings! Looking forward to learning how to sustain a nomadic lifestyle and starting my own journey. Thank you and cheers!

Welcome to the site, Casie! I often wish my writings will inspire people to realize what they want out of life, but you seem to have that sorted out already. Hopefully, this site can offer some practical tips however. glad to have you here.

Wow this is the coolest thing I have ever found on the internet. I’m only a teenager, so my life is held pretty firmly in place by my parents, school, sports etc. But everything I’m reading on this site matches up exactly with what I wish I could be doing with my life. It’s pretty frustrating feeling so restless but not really being able to do much about it. Did you feel this way when you were younger? I wonder if you have any sort of advice for me… But either way keep up all that you are doing! It is truly inspiring.

I think this is a fantastic thing you are doing. I am 62 almost. I also did a similar journey as you in my youth. Lol. Yes I was young once too. I ended up in Australia after traveling around the world. Perspective in life is important and more important is knowing yourself. Good luck with your journey. To everyone else. The front door is the first step into the world. See and feel it. It’s worthwhile

Hi!
Just saw you in an article from Hem och Hyra nr 4. So interesting to read and I’m inspired by your journey. I will be reading your blog as soon as something new comes up to be inspired by. 🙂 Best regards from Sweden

I look forward to learning from your traveling experiences. I spent the last 3+ years in South Korea & just last week relocated to Sidoarjo, Indonesia. Teaching ESL. Working on a blog though & ways to fund my travels other than doing the ESL thing. I work to travel for the most part. Love it. And I also agree with what you said briefly about relationships on the road. They come & go with the flow of travel. No attachment. What a different concept, huh?

Thanks again for providing such a resource. Have a great day wherever you are!

Very interested on your blog and some interesting ideas that are scattered throughout it. While not into nomadic lifestyle myself, I agree with you in the importance of getting rid of most things to achieve full liberty. I hope we can meet some day while you stay in Madrid and that you like the city and the people living here. As the saying goes: if you’re in Madrid, you’re from Madrid.

Hello Gustav, just send you an email. Very interesting choice of life you got right now. The beauty of freedom and living life to the fullest, meeting all wonderful and bad people all over the world. Experiencing the good and bad life throws at us. Thats life indeed. The balance of good and bad, yin and yang. Let me know when you near Long Beach area. Would love to get to know you buddy. Big luvin xoxo

As I read about you I am realizing that we are both thorns on the same rose. The only difference is you have the patience to put together this web page. I figured I’d write the epic story of my life during my travels which will begin in 2017, when I am 40, and hope to life the nomadic life for at least ten years. Who knows, it may become second nature to me. Perhaps I may run into you. By the way, how often do you meed fellow travelers living the same life? Is it easy to connect with them?

HI Gustav!
I was so happy to come across ( on accident! ) your wonderful sight!
I will say, from one world traveller and world citizen to another I am impressed with your posts and your adventures.
I have been to 59 countries and it is still not enough. ( my last trip was to Iran and I loved it!)
It would be wonderful to meet up somewhere in the world!

Kind of sounds like me. I have only traveled the USA since I left the Army in 2009. I am going to Nimbin Australia to attend Mardigrass. Then who knows. I want to meet new people when I travel and have friends that want to travel together.

I stumbled on your blog at 3 am this morning while deep down the internet rabbit hole of travel planning. Taking the time to quickly click through now, I’ve just landed on your map page. My immediate reaction was a gasp and silently mouthed ‘oh my god, I love this man.’ I love it! I love all of it. I want to osmotically absorb all of this knowledge and experience and philosophy into my head. I want to think about it, talk about it and build upon it. I’m so inspired. It’s such a perfect example of organized creativity. Thank you for this Gustav.

Howdy Gustav,
Great Blog and postings. You are very adventurious guy and great to see all your adventures posted here. Good luck with your World travels, look forward to reading about all your future destinations and experiences. Enjoy and safe travels.
John L.

Hello brother!
A friend of mine gave me your blog info after I expressed how I want to travel around the world falling in love with everyone I meet and having amazing experiences all while simply enjoying life. I want to talk to you about how you got started going on your adventures. Please email me! I so look forward to talking with you, someone who I think shares the same outlook on life and love!